Artificial Graphite Anode Material (Synthetic Graphite Anode Powder)

Synthetic graphite anode powder graphitised from needle and petroleum coke at about 2,800 °C, bought on capacity, first-cycle efficiency and particle size, with China's export-control status stated

Artificial graphite anode material is the powder that most lithium-ion cell makers now coat onto copper foil, and it is made rather than mined: low-sulphur, highly aromatic feedstocks are delayed-coked into green needle coke or petroleum coke, calcined at 1,000–1,500 °C to drive off volatiles, milled and granulated, graphitised in Acheson, box or continuous furnaces at about 2,800 °C, and then surface-coated with pitch or by chemical vapour deposition. The buyer reads four numbers. Synthetic graphite at a D50 of 12–20 µm delivers 355–365 mAh/g reversible capacity with 90–93% first-cycle efficiency and over 85% capacity retention after 1,000 cycles at 1C in one published study, and a cell-maker patent specifies artificial graphite anode material at a Dv50 of 15–18 µm and 350–358 mAh/g; particle size, tap and compaction density, specific surface area, ash and moisture complete the certificate, and each cell maker qualifies a grade before contracting. Feedstock sets the tiers: needle-coke-based, coated grades sit at the top for fast-charge and long-cycle cells, petroleum-coke-based grades below them, and SMM reports artificial graphite anode prices stable through September 2026 with petroleum coke and needle coke costs holding at highs and graphitisation tolling fees steady with expectations of increases. Artificial graphite is declared under HS 3801.10.

The supply chain is Chinese. China controls about 74% of the graphite anode supply chain by one 2024 industry infographic and is projected to hold over 85% of anode market share by 2030; it produced 69% of the world's low-sulphur petroleum coke in 2023 against 11% for Japan and 10% for the USA; and less than 1% of uncoated spherical graphite is made outside China. Korea hosts anode producers outside China and Japan supplies coke and anode material to cell makers. The export rules therefore decide what a buyer can contract. Since 1 December 2023, MOFCOM has required a dual-use export licence, renewable every six months and naming the purchaser, contract and end use, for high-purity, high-strength, high-density synthetic graphite materials and for natural flake graphite and its products; on 5 December 2024, Announcement No. 46 added stricter end-user and end-use review for graphite dual-use items bound for the United States. On 9 October 2025, Announcement No. 58 added artificial graphite anode materials (item 3C901.b.1), mixed artificial-and-natural anode materials (3C902.b.2), granulation kettles of 5 m³ and above, graphitisation furnaces, fusion-coating equipment above 300 L, spray dryers above 60 m³ and CVD rotary kilns above 0.5 m diameter (3B901.c), and the granulation, continuous graphitisation and liquid-phase coating technologies (3E901.b), effective 8 November 2025. On 7 November 2025 MOFCOM and Customs suspended Announcement No. 58 until 10 November 2026, and on 9 November 2025 Announcement No. 72 suspended the 2024 US-specific end-user review until 27 November 2026; the December 2023 licence requirement itself remains in force. CBIL is a commodity brokerage company and brokers artificial graphite anode material from producer and trader allocations in China, Japan and Korea against the producer's certificate of analysis (capacity, first-cycle efficiency, D50, tap density, specific surface area, ash, moisture), the export licence and end-user certificate where the origin requires them, a certificate of origin and a safety data sheet. US buyers also check the UFLPA entity list, which added Xinjiang carbon and anode-material producers in July 2026. Anode powder moves in 25 kg bags or lined 500 kg to 1 MT big bags in 20-foot containers on FOB, CFR and CIF terms; minimum lots are confirmed per grade and pack. Send the capacity and efficiency you are qualified to, D50 and coating requirement, monthly tonnage and discharge port, and the enquiry is screened and worked against it.

Excluded origins are not offered, including product re-exported, blended or re-processed through a third country. Every lot moves with a certificate of origin naming the producing plant, mine or grower country, and nothing is quoted before the seller and loading point are known.